The present invention relates to a fluid coupler.
There is known in the art a fluid coupler comprising male and female couplers. The fluid coupler includes a ball valve which is rotatable between an angular receiving position and an angular securing position for the male coupler. To connect the male to the female coupler, the male coupler is first inserted into a through hole of the ball valve which is in its angular receiving position, and the ball valve is then rotated to its angular securing position for the male coupler, to provide a secure connection between the male and female couplers.
FIG. 28 shows fluid coupler disclosed in Japanese patent application 2002-168387A, and which is of the type described above. As shown, this fluid coupler 1 has a female coupler 1 and a male coupler 2 adapted to be inserted into and connected to the female coupler 1. The female coupler includes a cylindrical coupler body 8 having a through hole 5. The female coupler 1 further has a ball valve 4 including a through hole 3 extending along a diameter thereof, and a valve holding casing 9 having an inverse cup shape, and which is disposed around the ball valve 4 and threadably connected to the cylindrical coupler body 8 to rotatably hold the ball valve 4. In the through hole 5 of the cylindrical coupler body B, there is provided a cylindrical sealing member 6 having a spherical end surface for slidable engagement with the ball valve 8.
The male coupler 2 has an extending cylindrical male member 11 of a small diameter and adapted to be inserted into and connected to the female coupler 1. The cylindrical male member 11 is adapted to be inserted into the through hole 3 of the ball valve 4 in its angular receiving position (FIG. 28). In this position, the through hole 3 of the ball valve 4 is at an angle of about 45 degrees relative to a vertical line or an axis of the through hole 5 of the female coupler 1 and the through hole 5 is sealingly closed by the outer spherical surface of the ball valve 4. When the cylindrical male member 11 is completely inserted into the through hole 3 of the ball valve 4, a large diameter portion 11a of the cylindrical male member 11 is fitted into a cylindrical male member support 13 that is threadably engaged with the through hole 3 of the ball valve, and a forward end of the cylindrical male member 11 is sealingly engaged by a sealing sleeve 14, which is provided in the through hole 3, and is fastened by the male coupler support 13. The male coupler 2 inserted into the through hole 3 of the ball valve 4 is rotated together with the ball valve 4 in a clock-wise direction through about 45 degrees to bring into alignment a through hole 12 of the male coupler 2 and the through hole 3 of the ball valve 4 with the through hole 5 of the female coupler 1, respectively, whereby the female and male couplers 1 and 2 are brought into fluid communication. The ball valve holding casing 9 has an elongated through hole 10 extending from its left side, as viewed in FIG. 28, to its top or forward end portion. The elongated through hole includes a large width portion 10a which is positioned at the leftmost end of the elongated through hole 10 to allow the large diameter portion 11a of the cylindrical male member 11 to pass through the elongated through hole 10 into the through hole 3 of the ball valve 4; and also includes a remaining small width portion 10b extending from the large width portion 10 to the rightmost end of the elongated through hole 10, the width of which is slightly larger than the cylindrical male member 11 but smaller than the diameter of the large 3portion 11a of the cylindrical male member 11.
In the male coupler securing angular position, a locking sleeve 17 of the male coupler 2 is moved down or forwards to be brought into engagement with a locking portion 16 formed on the top or forward end of the valve holding casing 9, so as to prevent the male coupler 2 returning to its angular receiving position.
As shown, the ball valve 4 is provided with a pair of flat surfaces 4a and 4b which are in parallel with the rotational axis CL of the ball valve 4 and the ball valve holding casing 9 is provided in its interior with corresponding flat surfaces 9a and 9b. The flat surfaces 9a and 9b are adapted to engage with the flat surfaces 4a and 4b of the ball valve 4 when it is moved from the angular receiving position for the male coupler to the angular securing position for the male coupler. The ball valve 4 further has a flat surface (not shown) that is normal to the rotational axis CL; and the valve holding casing also has a flat surface for slidable engagement with the flat surface of the ball valve 4 to prevent the ball valve from rotating around any other axis than the rotational axis CL.